Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

"That is a black mamba."

"I also know that."

The words should have caused panic. Instead, they caused confusion.

The students stared at Yesu.

The grey serpent shifted slightly around her arm.

Immediately, the tension doubled.

Several students took another cautious step backwards.

Yesu remained perfectly still. Her mind had already drifted elsewhere.

To a fateful Saturday afternoon.

To Doctor Heckman’s penthouse/laboratory.

The man had spent nearly an entire day talking about black mambas.

Not because she had asked.

Because Doctor Heckman simply enjoyed talking.

Now, somehow, she had ended up with the exact same creature wrapped around her arm.

Her brows furrowed.

What had he said again?

"Stay as calm and still as possible."

Right. That one was easy.

"Avoid trying to yank the snake off."

Easy enough.

"Avoid squeezing, hitting, or startling it."

Also reasonable.

The snake’s body shifted slightly higher.

Yesu forced her body to remain completely still before it acted without command as usual.

She tried concentrating on what Doctor Heckman had said instead.

He had said more. She was sure there had been more.

She tried recalling.

Around her, students who had scattered to search were returning after hearing the commotion.

The crowd naturally parted.

Soraya stepped through. And paused.

Isaiah leaned close.

"It isn’t a robotic snake." He whispered, as though the snake might understand him. "It’s a black mamba."

Soraya stared at Yesu’s arm. Then at the snake.

She sighed.

"Do you know of any way we can remove it and keep Yesu in one piece?"

Isaiah hummed thoughtfully.

Carrots immediately raised a hand.

"We could yank it off with a stick. Like Yesu did back then when it happened to Farida."

Isaiah shook his head.

"No."

His answer came instantly.

"Forcefully trying to remove it would be extremely dangerous."

The students listened.

"Black mambas are incredibly fast. The moment it thinks it’s being threatened, it’ll react."

That shut everyone up.

Soraya folded her arms.

"Then we wait. If Yesu remains still, eventually it’ll unwind itself and leave."

Carrots frowned.

"And how long exactly is ’eventually’? We don’t have all day."

"Actually," James said. "We could keep searching either way."

Everyone turned to stare at him.

Soraya barely looked at him.

"No one gets left behind." She said sharply.

"That wasn’t what I meant." James was quick to clarify. "Two or three people can stay with her. The rest of us can keep looking."

Soraya’s reply was even sharper.

"No."

James clicked his tongue.

"Fine. Then I suggest we cut it. Slice through the snake."

Several students blinked.

Farida looked horrified.

"Are you insane?" She half screamed. "What if we end up cutting Yesu’s arm as well?"

Carrots waved a hand.

"She’ll probably be fine. She seems to heal quickly anyway."

Farida looked ready to strangle her.

"Unbelievable." She said under her breath.

Soraya actually considered it.

If she could make a very thin elemental blade.

Sharp enough for the snake but precise enough to avoid touching Yesu.

It was possible.

Maybe.

The risk was enormous.

After several seconds she shook her head.

"No."

Meanwhile, Yesu finally remembered another part of Doctor Heckman’s lecture.

"If the snake is relaxed rather than defensive, patience is often safer than force."

She glanced at the reptile.

It wasn’t hissing. It wasn’t striking. It wasn’t displaying aggression.

It looked...

Comfortable.

Soraya was right, waiting was safer.

She would just wait it out. Safe and steady.

Then the complaints started.

It began low at first then gradually became louder.

"We’re running out of time."

"Seventeen hundred isn’t far away."

"We still haven’t found any Scales."

"Just do it, Soraya. You’re a Specialist. It might work."

The pressure began building around Soraya.

Every suggestion.

Every complaint.

Every passing minute.

Then suddenly—

The final piece of Doctor Heckman’s lecture surfaced in Yesu’s mind.

"Let a trained handler carefully support and unwind the snake from the tail end if removal is necessary."

Yesu glanced around.

No one.

Not a single trained snake handler. Or even a potential one.

The pressure around Soraya continued growing.

Students wanted answers.

Soraya was already breaking under the pressure but before she could respond—

"I’ll handle it."

Every head snapped toward Yesu. Toward the snake.

Slowly, Yesu raised her free arm.

Immediate protests erupted.

"Don’t!"

"What are you doing?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

Yesu ignored them. "I’ll remove it."

Isaiah looked horrified.

"Have you ever done something like this before?" He asked.

"No."

The answer came immediately, without the tiniest bit of hesitance.

Isaiah stared. The horror on his face somehow increased.

"Only someone skilled should attempt something like that."

"Don’t worry." Yesu’s voice remained calm. "I’ll be careful."

Soraya exhaled.

Then extended a hand.

A long, razor-thin blade formed beside her.

Floating.

Waiting.

"I’ll be on standby." She assured Yesu.

Yesu smiled slightly.

Then carefully reached toward the snake’s tail.

The forest became silent.

No birds.

No chatter.

No movement.

Every student watched. Rigid. Tense. Horrified.

And slowly—

Very slowly—

Yesu began unwinding the black mamba from her arm.

The squad watched in horrified silence.

Somehow, Yesu was actually doing it.

The first coil came loose. Then the second. Then the third.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Like she was handling a sleeping bomb.

Nobody dared speak. Nobody dared breathe too loudly.

Halfway through, the snake shifted.

Soraya immediately leaned forward. The thin blade in her hand gleamed.

Yesu froze.

The snake raised its head slightly.

A long second passed.

Then another.

Eventually, it settled again.

Only then did Yesu continue.

A minute later, the final coil slipped free.

A collective breath escaped from the squad.

She had done it.

The black mamba now rested across both of Yesu’s hands.

Alive.

Unrestrained.

Farida looked ready to faint.

"Throw it away." she pleaded. "Quickly."

Yesu slowly approached the shrub.

Every neck craned forward. Every eye followed the snake.

Then—

"HELP!"

A shout exploded through the forest.

Everyone snapped toward the sound.

Including Yesu.

The black mamba instantly reacted.

Its body tensed.

Its head whipped around.

Then it struck.

A vicious hiss tore through the clearing.

The snake launched toward Yesu’s face.

Its mouth opened wide.

Fangs flashed.

Yesu’s hands flew upward.

Too slow.

The mamba was already there.

Soraya moved.

Her blade vanished.

The silver streak crossed the small distance.

The snake’s head separated from its body.

The attack stopped a moment away from Yesu’s eye.

Thud.

The severed head hit the ground.

The body followed.

And began thrashing wildly.

Students screamed. Several stumbled backward.

Farida nearly fell over herself.

Then—

"HELP!"

The shout came again. Much closer than before.

Crashing footsteps followed. Bushes shook violently.

Before anyone could react, two figures burst into the clearing.

"HELP!"

Finch and Reggie skidded to a stop in front of the squad.

Both were panting heavily.

Soraya stepped forward.

"What happened?"

The two boys bent over trying to catch their breath.

Finch raised a finger.

"One second."

"No." Soraya said flatly. "Now."

Finch straightened.

"We have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Soraya’s expression darkened.

Reggie pointed upward.

"The good news is we found ten Scales."

The clearing exploded.

"What?!"

"Ten?!"

"No way!"

Even Farida momentarily forgot the dead black mamba at her feet.

Only Soraya remained unmoved. Her eyes narrowed.

"And the bad news?"

Finch winced. "Well..."

He glanced at Reggie. Reggie looked away.

Finch rubbed the back of his neck.

"We kind of took them."

Soraya blinked. "What does that mean?"

Finch pointed behind himself.

"It means 12-C thinks they’re theirs."

On cue, angry shouts echoed through the forest.

The expressions on Finch and Reggie’s faces became extremely guilty.

"And now they’re chasing us." Finch finished.

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